Vietnam has launched a project on ecological industrial parks costing $53 million with funding from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Global Environment Fund and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The projects, which receive $4.5 million non-refundable loans from the three agencies, will build industrial parks (IPs) using green and less carbon emissions technologies to mitigate environmental pollution. The IPs will be built in Hanoi, the northern province of Ninh Binh, the central city of Danang and the southern city of Can Tho for three years, targeting to help the localities reduce 182,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and six million cubic meters of wastewater annually. Vietnam is facing serious environmental pollution caused by IPs as more than 30% of over 1,000 industrial parks and industrial clusters in the country are operating without waste treatment systems. Up to 40% of 623,000 cubic meters of wastewater discharged in the industrial parks and clusters per day are unprocessed, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said. (Thoibaonganhang.vn Oct 17)
